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Topic: Building a computer??? |
Don Poland
From:
Hanover, PA.
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Posted 24 Aug 2005 9:11 am |
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I am thinking about building my next computer. My old one is really slow, something like 177Mhz. It is about 8 years old. I am looking for info from those that have built their own system in the past. What I need, is where are the best equipment/prices, etc....
Any help would be much appreciated.
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1974 MSA D10 7+4
If you ain't steelin' it, you ain't feelin' it !!
www.steelin4fun.com
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Will Holtz
From:
San Francisco, California, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2005 9:58 am
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| A good place to order components from is Newegg. However I recommend buying a built system unless you want something special or just enjoy playing with hardware. Dell has managed to push prices down so far, that it has gotten hard to justify building your own system in order to save money. |
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Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Aug 2005 10:15 am
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DP, newegg or Tiger direct have excellent parts. I have built my last 3 computers. I have to agree with Will, it doesn't seem cost effective anymore to build your own, unless you have a very specific need.
The laptop I'm using now cost less than $500 new, and I use it for all my everyday stuff.
Part of the cost of building your own now is XP,around a hundred bucks. It is easy to build one if you still want to, just do a little research and take your time. JimP |
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Gary Shepherd
From:
Fox, Oklahoma, USA
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Michael Barone
From:
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
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Posted 24 Aug 2005 7:26 pm
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Consider how the machine will be used, and what you expect to accomplish in the future. For most people, doing word processing, consumer audio stuff, etc., a cheap home system will work well.
A year ago I built a P-4 2GHz with parts from Newegg. I think the total was around $550. I wanted to record at 96KHz/24bit sampling rate, while playing back 14 or more tracks. Memory, HD & Sound Card drove the total price up a little, MSI Mainboard. It's OK, but not great for graphics editing. IMHO MACs are the best for graphics, but not as good for sound processing.
Be a little cautious using Pricewatch. A lot of my students buy from these vendors. While most were satisfied, a few had quality problems with expensive re-stocking fees when you return stuff. Some like to re-box used stuff and sell for new.
If you going to build your own specialized machine, you have to do your homework researching hardware compatibility issues. For example, some high-end video cards are not compatible with some motherboards. Some high end sound cards may not be compatible (or you won’t have all the features enabled) with WIN 2000 or some motherboards. It’s not as easy as it was 5 years ago.
Just some notes from my experiences, for my 100th post.
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Mike Barone
Sho-Bud Pro-1 5&4 with RHL | Nashville 112
Assorted Guitars & Keyboards |
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Larry Weaver
From:
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2005 5:54 am
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I agree in that Newegg is the way to go. I've used them exclusively for the last 7 or 8 machines that I have built, and the service and quality has been flawless. There have been a couple of bumps and wrinkles with shipping issues and bad parts, dead cpu etc, but these were resolved immediately. In one instance they even sent replacement parts before I could get the originals packed and out the door.
For the most part, I agree that Dell and others have driven the price down on systems to where there are no longer the huge savings one would get by building. Still, I personally find it worthwhile to build my own. I prefer having control over what goes into each and every machine. Depending on the parts and pieces one chooses, there can be a tremendous difference in quality between a built box and a Dell. THAT for me is the big difference. Yes, you may spend a few bucks more building your own these days, but with well chosen parts, you'll have a MUCH better unit.
Down side to that of course is that one needs to keep up to date with all the tech trends.
regards,
-Larry W [This message was edited by Larry Weaver on 25 August 2005 at 07:08 AM.] |
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John Daugherty
From:
Rolla, Missouri, USA
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erik
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Posted 25 Aug 2005 6:48 pm
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Most PC manufacturers will let you build online. This way you can choose among many componants, seperate drives, etc. You would assume that whatever you choose during the process is not going to create a compatibilty issue. Might cost a little extra but then you have a warrenty also.
Most current music recording software offerings have high demand system requirements. I recently purchased a semi-pro software program from Magix for $5 that runs farely well on my old PII system. And interestingly does not improve with high end computer configurations as evidenced by many posts made at their web site. Don't build a high end system unless you plan on running high end software, i.e. the more you spend on the computer the more you'll spend on software.
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-johnson
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