Remind me again, why we're doing this

[MarkM]

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
If the day ever comes where I am choosing should I go with Dell,Gateway,Compaq,ect or building my own is the day I will give up on computers. I enjoy it and enjoy picking out what parts I want.

There's nothing wrong with Dell, verything has it's place. I am one of the 80 bazillion hot deal readers who bought a 400sc a year ago for $179AR with the free Palm 21. I build my own, and I need power because I develop software for a living, but that was the perfect machine for my younger kids, with a feature set/quality/reliability/convenience factor I couldn't come anywehre CLOSE to if I rolled my own. Everything has it's place; refusing to even look at a Dell is at least as stupid as refuisng ot look at anything but a Dell IMO.

 

[darkeyed]

I have worked on alot of prebuild and have built several computers. Prebuild computers even if they say they have a certain video card (ie ati such and such) Most times these cards are build special for them with a few limited features. They dont tend to upgrade well. And as far as the OS most of them dont send you the CD and if you change the motherboard later the OS will no longer work.

Other tricks they can use to drop cost is shared video memory, 5200 RPM hard drives, generic PSU.

Although when people ask me about building a computer for them I tell them if they are looking for a basic computer to low mid range I cant touch it overall. If they want a midrange or high end machine then I can do much better in price.

 

[bigpow]

First of all, I'd like to say thank you for all who contributed to this post.

I think I can summarize your comments into such:
+ Pride (using your own DIY)
+ Fun (picking out the components & making them work smoothly)
- Value (can't beat OEM PC on this one)

* WinXP, MS Works & other apps cost $$$
* Most OEM PC = crappy hardwares & softwares, not meant to be upgrade-able.

I remember:
- The original Unreal. I had my Celeron 300A @450, Asus P2BF, A3D & Voodoo2 PCI. That and the original Half-Life will forever be my favorites.
- LAN Parties. Started out with DOOM2 (over null-modem cable), went through Quake, Quake2 & Quake3. Did a little C&C, RA, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc.
- My first overclock. How my P166MMX ran at 200MHz... :')
- I remember my grandma. Never too old to do anything. She tried to repaint her house when she was 88yo. Ended up with a broken hip, she never recovered. She deteriorated and passed away a few years later.

My current machine:
.XP1700+ (9x200) ---tbu---> A64 3200+ S939 (90nm)
.A7N8X Dx 1.04 ---tbu---> Asus NForce4 Ultra (when??)
.2x512MB XMS PC3200C2
.400GB HDD
.GF4 TI4200 ---tbu---> MSI or Chaintech 6600GT PCI-E
.Lian-Li PC6085B (480W PSU)
.NEC 22" CRT
.Logitech Z560

In the end, this "old man" is going to upgrade his rig... yet again. 🙂

Thank you.

 

[MrControversial]

Originally posted by: vazel
never! i don't know why u all build ur own pc's but for me it isn't just to save money. it's for the fun of doing it and choosing every component that goes into ur pc. i think that's why most ppl do it.

Ditto. My last pre-built was an Emachines that exploded a CD-ROM disk and almost injured my brother. Then there's the cheap parts they put in them to make a profit and the life of these components are questionable. So when I build a computer, it's with 100% namebrand quality parts. Hand-built PC's are usually more reliable if you know what you're doing. I like popping open my computer and knowing what every trace, jumper, cable and pin does because I labored over it. In the RARE case that something goes wrong, I usually know where the problem is.

I may be spending more money, but I will never buy a pre-built computer again.

 

[kki000]

Its more than pride and getting a better product.
Dont forget serviceability. Many of those machines use custom mobos, and power supplies. If either goes, yer screwed like a whore on pay day.

One of the dev boxes here, a compaq blew out its psu and it took over 2 weeks for compaq to ship a replacement. Its form factor was not atx and i couldnt get a local replacements. That one inicident is what i needed to convert this whole office to a custom pc house. Any thing breaks in a box i build its less than 70 bucks to replace, and its up and running the same day. I can run to any number of shops to pickup a replacement.
BTW that "custom" compaw psu was only 200wats, what a fu(king joke.
K

 

[MrControversial]

Originally posted by: Amol
yadda yadda yadda. . . it uses IGP

The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you!

How dare you utter that filthy acronym in these holy forums?!

 

[RalphTheCow]

I'm currently in the midst of this debate. I have had great luck with a Dell 4100 P3, and the wimpy games I play like Superbike run very well, even with the cheap original 16 MB ATI and now a 64 MB GeForce 2.

But the new ones seem to be a lot more cheaply made, the 3000 even lacking an AGP or PCIe video slot. The person trying to talk me into building tells me Dell's cooling was adequate for the P3, but the new stuff runs hotter and they still have only two fans, the PSU one and the CPU one with that strange green ducting. So I will probably have to build just to get around that, plus I would like to get rid of all the crapware they ship on it. I would rather buy to avoid hassles, plus with the right deal it is definitely cheaper. And my upgrade strategy is just to buy a new one - what will I be able to save in a 3-4 year upgrade - the case? Big deal!

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: RalphTheCow
I'm currently in the midst of this debate. I have had great luck with a Dell 4100 P3, and the wimpy games I play like Superbike run very well, even with the cheap original 16 MB ATI and now a 64 MB GeForce 2.

But the new ones seem to be a lot more cheaply made, the 3000 even lacking an AGP or PCIe video slot. The person trying to talk me into building tells me Dell's cooling was adequate for the P3, but the new stuff runs hotter and they still have only two fans, the PSU one and the CPU one with that strange green ducting. So I will probably have to build just to get around that, plus I would like to get rid of all the crapware they ship on it. I would rather buy to avoid hassles, plus with the right deal it is definitely cheaper. And my upgrade strategy is just to buy a new one - what will I be able to save in a 3-4 year upgrade - the case? Big deal!

The 3000 is the cheapest Dell it's for web surfing and email, it's not a gaming rig, I bought 2 in the last month 1 for under $100 and one for $172. Don't buy a wrench and use it as a hammer 😉 even though in some case you can get away with it.

The 4700, 8400 and XPS all have and pci-x slots.

Tom

 

[Vee]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
The 4700, 8400 and XPS all have and pci-x slots.
Tom

PCI Express is "PCIe" or possibly pci-e. PCI-X is something completely different.

 

[ribbon13]

PCI-X is what godly systems uses. You know. Those ones that run Tyan or Iwill boards, that you will NEVER see in a name brand desktop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...Component_Interconnect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-Express

 

[tweeve2002]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
The best PCI card you can get on newegg anymore is a Radeon 9250
hahahaha

that on a pci bus trying to run the sims 2...
hahahahahahahahaha

Actully I got a 128MB 5200 PCI for a Friend and it run Sims 2 just fine...In fact it runs most games fine...But I guess anyting beats Intergrated 😉

 

[Vee]

I don't particularly like Dell. In fact I hate them. But I won't tire you with working myself into a frothy frenzy... at least not right now.

Dell's prices are indeed, if you look only at the specs and what they would cost, hard to beat.
Still, I would argue that in the long run, it is cheaper and much more comfortable to live with many computers, if you build them, and rebuild them, yourself.

Also, while a lot of builders tend to turn towards edge systems, it's quite possible to build a credible little PC, cheaply. Check out this little exercice. No special offers, nothing on sale.

Sempron 2200+ $48
Soltek SL-KT600 or Chaintek SKT600 MB $39
256MB PC2700 $33
Rosewill 128MB R9600 $70
Case $17
Fortron ATX300GU $19
Samsung 7200rpm 40GB $45
Samsung or LiteOn CDROM $15
Good 17" Monitor CTX, Viewsonic, Philips... $110
Windows XP home $93
Keyboard Lite-On or DCT $5
Scroll weel mouse $4

$498 total.

$286 without monitor, OS, keyboard.

(I'm not sure of the R9600, I think Rosewill's 128-bit R9600 should be more like $80(?), so it's possible this card is the crippled version. Also, according to recommendations, that Rosewill card also needs either some underclocking or a little fan. Prices are from newegg.)

 

[jpeyton]

You can do even better if you browse FS/FT.

 

[ribbon13]

Funny, you also forgot the OS. You planning to use Linux? And what about time? Time isn't money to you? Time to build the machine and time to take calls for support for 1-3years. Oh look at that, there goes the price point.

If you have windows xp on your current computer, you still have a valid license. And after being screwed by there stupid WPA bullshit, I have no moral issues with using a volume license xp pro. It would take me 20 minutes tops to build that. formating the hdd and preloading the windows install cache could be done simultaneously. 45minutes from parts to windows desktop tops.

😛