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Should I build my own system?

D

DiverDave

Member
I've replaced and repaired parts in a computer on several occasions before but never built one from scratch. I thought I was going to need a new computer sooner but looks like my old one will be ok for now. So that got me thinking that maybe I have time to build my own. What are the cost savings in building your own? A few hundred dollars? I would have to balance the cost savings against the time needed since I don't have a lot of free time.

Also in building a computer it isn't clear to me what extra items I would need. For example I know I need a MB/CPU/HD/DVD/Memory/Case/PSU but do those things come with the necessary cables or is that another thing that needs to be purchased?

Thanks
 
YES!

Building yourself is definitely the way to go! I'm glad I did a few years ago and haven't looked back. You not only save yourself a lot of money (depends on what you put into it), but you can also make sure to put in quality parts, not the cheapest around to increase your bottom line.

Generally all the components you listed will come with all the necessary cables/screws/... as long as you purchase them as "Retail" as opposed to "OEM". For example, an OEM CPU is just that, a CPU, but a retail one will include the heat sink and fan.
 
Building your own is definitely the way to go. And of course you can enlist the help of people here to ensure compatibility of components prior to purchase, finding the best bang for your buck, and troubleshooting any building woes.

We'll also be glad to help you take apart your old PC and sell it piece-by-piece, which seems (in my experience) to yield higher profit than selling it as a whole.
 
The higher up the scale you go the more save vs. big OEMs; just take a look at the prices Falcon Northwest and Alienware charges.

The biggest advantage is that you get to pick the parts yourself so you know you?ll be getting quality hardware, which may not always be the case with some of the OEMs. The other big advantage is a machine you build yourself can be built with a bit of future upgradeability in mind; boxes from Dell and others have severely limited upgrade options.
 
It was the people on this forum that convinced me to finally build my own system and I will never again use a PC that I haven't built myself. It's the only way to go...It is actually very easy to "build" the rig. The hardest part is picking out all of your hardware. You have to make sure that everything is compatible and then of course what you can afford. But it's fun picking out your hardware, and you will know your computer inside and out and when problems arise no one will be better equiped to fix it other than yourself.

Maximum PC has on the news stands now a special edition on how to build your own rig. Pick up a copy and that should answer any of your questions....
 
You also learn a great deal about the differneces in parts when you do the research in what parts to pick... the retail Motheboards generally come with all the cables you need so OEM other parts are usually not a problem, maybe short a cable for video card but those are easy to get... if you want a DVI cable DO NOT GO TO A STORE find one online for abou 1/10 of the price.
A big difference between building and buying is the warranty. You have to fix and deal with the companies yourself instead of just calling dell to help you out, but you can always come ask us for help... you just risk some of the unfriendly people
 
Originally posted by: DiverDave
I've replaced and repaired parts in a computer on several occasions before but never built one from scratch. I thought I was going to need a new computer sooner but looks like my old one will be ok for now. So that got me thinking that maybe I have time to build my own. What are the cost savings in building your own? A few hundred dollars? I would have to balance the cost savings against the time needed since I don't have a lot of free time.

Also in building a computer it isn't clear to me what extra items I would need. For example I know I need a MB/CPU/HD/DVD/Memory/Case/PSU but do those things come with the necessary cables or is that another thing that needs to be purchased?

Thanks
Click to expand...



You should definitely build your own system. :thumbsup: You will not regret it! After you do, you probably won't go back to store built ever again. Shoot, I haven't owned a store built computer since Packard-Bell.

You can save as much as you want or spend as much as you want. That will be entirely up to you. Make sure you do your research. You need to know what your primary use of the PC will be. Are you going to use it to just to run Word and surf the internet? Are you going to be doing some serious gaming? Do you want to overclock the PC? Knowing the answers to these types of questions will guide you in your search for parts and the cost of the PC. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Folks around here have been pretty willing to help out.

As far as components, you've listed the minimum components you need. With those components, you would be able to build your PC.
 
Seems unanimous to build a PC myself. I'll start pricing out what I might get and get some more input here since the advice has been so positive so far. Those components might not be the ones that I actually use since I can wait some time if there are significant price cuts on the horizon (near term).

My main uses will be
Internet
Book Keeping
Some gaming
Some minor recording


My goal of build a solid system with good capabilities will be so it can be used for ~5 years (my current system is about 5 and a half years old now). So I would want something that isn't going to be obsolete in a year if something comes along that I really want on it.
 
not just cost , QUALITY

EDIT : we get a LOT of 'rate my pc' or 'is this compatable' threads here, so you can definatly post and know you will get some help.
 
In the spirit of the last post here's what I have if I was to do this now. However since I expect some pricing changes as some of the new things come out I'm not married to this yet. Just wanted to get some feed back on if the basic premise looks sound. All prices from Newegg even though I may not by there. And the graphic card is intended to run for a few years (probably) until DX10 is established

Thanks



Update LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165P6S RTL - Retail
Model #: SHM-165P6S RTL
Item #: N82E16827106256b $34.50


Update APEVIA (ASPIRE) X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: X-CRUISER-BK
Item #: N82E16811144151 $69.99


Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140 $94.99

Update SAPPHIRE 100168L Radeon X1900XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100168L
Item #: N82E16814102051 $239.99


Update Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: SP-500
Item #: N82E16817103937 $69.99

Update CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory Model VS2GBKIT667D2 - Retail
Model #: VS2GBKIT667D2
Item #: N82E16820145098 $229.99

Update GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-965P-DS3
Item #: N82E16813128012 $149.99


Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6400
Item #: N82E16819115004 $229.00
Subtotal: $1,108.44
 
Nice, with the exception of the PSU (smart power II is a pretty poor PSU all told). If you can spare enough to get a good 450W or 500W that'd be better.
 
The only suggestion that I would make is that you get two hard drives. One to run your OS, apps and games and one for backups, media and other junk. The 320GB fits the bill for a storage drive.
 
Poor choice in case and PSU, everything else looks fine.

Aspire is a manufacture known for making junk, that case has poor air flow, and the steel looks rather thin, not to mention the hideous factor.

Antec has been having a lot of problems with the SmartPower and TruePower lines due to poor designs and use of low-end capacitors.

For a simple quality case InWin make some very good ones; high quality steel and plastic, good air flow and clean looks, see here.

Recommended PSUs would be Seasonic, Forton-Source, Enhance, and PCP&C; 350-400 watts would be plenty.
 
I was thinking of keeping my current HD (40 Gig IDE) as a second HD. I am not a heavy user of HD space (my 40 Gig drive is only 1/2 full after 5+ years).

The PSU/case is a bit confusing to be honest. There is such a big difference in prices, you can spend as little as $50 on the combo or as much as $3-400. I'm not sure that the benefits are there. I cannot tell you what my current PSU is but it's been working fine for all this time. I suspect it is not a high grade one since I did not specify the PSU unit when I purchased the system back in 2001.
 
Originally posted by: DiverDave
The PSU/case is a bit confusing to be honest. There is such a big difference in prices, you can spend as little as $50 on the combo or as much as $3-400. I'm not sure that the benefits are there. I cannot tell you what my current PSU is but it's been working fine for all this time. I suspect it is not a high grade one since I did not specify the PSU unit when I purchased the system back in 2001.
Click to expand...
Well there is no reason to spend $70 on a pile of junk Aspire when $50-60 will get you a very nice InWin or Antec. The InWin will come with a fairly decent PSU that you can keep around as a backup, Antec?s can be found without PSUs.

As for the PSU itself; cheap units can work, some for several years but their failure is rate is much, much higher then a good Forton-Source, or Seasonic. A low quality PSU can also lead to system instability and in worst case scenarios damage other hardware when/if it fails.
 
So to further the case discussion. There are dozens of cases. Other then looks, what features should one be looking for? Number of fans? Sizes of Fans? I would quess that my system would not have more than 2 HD and 1 optical drive so I don't think space for compenents would be a big deal.

Edit
Note that the location of the computer in my house is such that it sits beside a desk and thus side air flow (and access) is not direct. I don't know if this is a problem in the cases that have side vents
 
anand has rated some cases (click on the Cases/Cooling tab at the top of the page). from what i recall, most of them are in the $100+ range but i'm sure he has a review or two on cheaper ones.

as for the power supply, a fortron 450w power supply is more than enough (~$50). don't listen to the posters about your case looking "hideoes." if they say something's wrong with the case (e.g. poor airflow), take that note into consideration but pick something you wouldn't mind looking at for 5 years. i mean it's your computer.

aside from the changes the other posters have listed, i think your ram is HORRIBLE. $230 for VALUE ram?? don't take me wrong, corsair is a wonderful brand, but those sticks are way overpriced. i wouldn't spend more than $180 for 2gb of ram (corsair, g.skill, ocz, patriot all make good ram).

aside from that, looks like an awesome build
 
Seems like Ram prices are up. The cheapest I see on Newegg right now is

Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G5300LLK - Retail $179.99

Everything else (in stock) is ~$200+

That said the prices could fluctuate alot before I actually start buying. I'm going to milk as much info as I can out of you guys 😀 first. And do alot more research.

BTW that website is great, I'm sure to use it when I start to build my own!

Thanks again
 
changing componets (case/PSU)



Update RAIDMAX X1 ATX-909WB Black/ Silver SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: ATX-909WB
Item #: N82E16811156179

Based off review in cases section

Update FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: AX450-PN
Item #: N82E16817104954

Baseed off mutliple recommendations. However as near as I can tell this wouldn't be able to do SLI if every was so inclined. Is this correct?
 
Originally posted by: DiverDave
Update FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: AX450-PN
Item #: N82E16817104954

Baseed off mutliple recommendations. However as near as I can tell this wouldn't be able to do SLI if every was so inclined. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

you could be pushing it if you went SLI...depends on the cards though. if you're talking about the 7900GTX SLIed or something, i would go with the 500w just to be safe (runs around $80 i think on newegg)
 
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