a personal computing unit: build or buy?

[Pressure Drop]

first pc i got i built it, second i bought it prebuilt.

to really generalise it
built = better pc for money but with a headache
prebuilt = hassle free but they either will cost more or save money on the motherboard etc.

money wise there wasn't loads of difference, in the one i built i had alot more control and bought better quality components specialy in things like motherboard graphics card etc ... also i wasn't paying for stuff i didn't want.

On the other hand a prebuilt one they prolly get their components cheaper than you do so when they build it and make their profit it's not loads higher than makeing a profit off you for each individial item + shipping etc if you buy from a couple of stores.

BUt the main advantage is if something goes wrong you have a warrenty and it's up to them to fix it.

if you've built your own it can be a nightmare since you have to troubleshoot which component failed etc ... or incompatable and find the right drivers etc ...

[WuTang420]

wow i havent shopped around in a while. something like this would be fast and leave you some $. and the best part is its not a dell! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229078

[Bioture]

Thanks for the help dudes. Yeah, I've considered going the Mac route. Still not going to rule it out. I already have a laptop, though, so if I go Mac I'm getting an iMac.

I'm a mac convert since the new MBPs came out and it's honestly been a great choice. A lot of people who hate on macs either can't afford one or haven't used one for longer than 15 minutes at a mac store. Or they're thinking that macs are still like the Apple II computers they've used in grade school or jumping the bandwagon on how mac specs suck and can't play games. They do cost more than their PC counterparts, however - but they do a LOT more with what they have. Unless you're a hardcore gamer, I'd say go for it. Some of the newer macs have competent enough graphics cards to allow for casual gaming.

The only thing to keep in mind that OSX comes with new shortcuts, navigation, application management, etc etc. That can take some getting used to. Took me a minute to figure out how to capture a part of a screen via shft+command+3

And also virtualization software allow you to run both XP and OSX at the same time, or you can boot into a XP partition to allow XP to use all the resources. Since I have a laptop I basically run XP on one screen and OSX on another - it's kinda like having 2 computers!

[Bioture]

Also if you're going to build a PC, just be ready to troubleshoot it if it doesn't work. I've built the last two PCs I've owned, and it was pretty good at getting me acclamated to computer hardware.

[Summa]

how mac specs suck and can't play games. They do cost more than their PC counterparts

a mac is a PC, stop watching those dumbass commercials. PC is an acronym for Personal Computer and last time i checked you mac was your personal computer. grow some balls, like apple needs to, and call out microsoft or windows. tired of those dumbass commercials and people who spew that garbage everywhere.

[Bioture]

a mac is a PC, stop watching those dumbass commercials. PC is an acronym for Personal Computer and last time i checked you mac was your personal computer. grow some balls, like apple needs to, and call out microsoft or windows. tired of those dumbass commercials and people who spew that garbage everywhere.

As someone who built and used PCs for the past 10 years, I don't think I was swayed by the commercials. But yes, the commercials do call out microsoft AND windows:

www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

[Nockm]

Way to stay on topic, guys.

[Miami.]

oh god don't get mac.. you'll probably regret it.
mac just seems to have dumbed down everything, get a real PC xp/vista style.

[Izor]

really nockm, did you expect a 2d spaceship game forum post which involves both macs and PC's NOT to turn into a pissing contest on which is better?

FYI, pretty much anywhere im going to work uses windows. GG mac, pretty useless

[Xog]

I know alot of people are gonna bash me for this, but you can go to www.dell.com and build your own computer by selecting certain parts for the computer and they put it together for you.

I built a PC from there for $1100. It's top-of-the-line for gaming.

For overall excellent computing (including graphics):
quad-core Pentium processor, 4GB memory
Asus motherboard (forgot model, but you can just look at reviews for the ones provided for u to choose from, there's like 3 models.
Windows XP Professional
(I'm gonna assume u like to collect files, so you can get a 5 TB ( 5,000+ GB ) hard drive for $100 from dell)

For non-gaming use:
Get a GeForce 6 series (like a GeForce 6800) graphics card
Power supply doesn't really matter, but don't get the "cheapest" one.


for intense graphics:
Geforce 8600 GTx graphics card
Get a powerful power supply

You can even customize your computer case.

that's the setup I have. For only $1100
Bolded items are the names of the essential items.
edit: I'm sure if you get the GeForce 6800 or something from that similar model range (6-7) the price will drop around $200-$400.

You can just go through their little build-a-pc feature and build one up, see how much it costs, and if its too much u can replace parts with a little outdated ones, which would still be excellent if it's only 1 model outdated, or you can add if it comes out surprisingly cheap.


btw the time it takes to go from fully loaded windows, clicking "restart" then fully loading windows and all my applications again takes about 15-20 seconds.

[Money]

wow thats shitty xog

[Sufficient]

Go with convenience and go premade imo unless you have a lot of time.

[Xog]

wow thats shitty xog

No, it's not.

[Izor]

I built a PC from there for $1100. It's top-of-the-line for gaming.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFL!!!! !

Oh wait it gets better, now the key parts of the computer are the power supply and an nvidia 8600 GTX, even though my computer that (without monitor) cost me 1300 bucks to build myself has 2x 260's, which i think still are damn near top of the line. I think my QX6700 processor is outdated though with the i7's

4 GB RAM with winxp pro, I'm assuming 32 bit edition since 64 winxp sucks, is pretty useless seeing as how only 3 GB is used. Also, when I was building my computer 6-12 months ago the performance difference between 2, 4, and 8 GB of the same memory was marginal at best. Instead of going with just 4 GB of RAM, consider 2 GB of good RAM or 4 GB of good ram to be on the safe side (thats what I did)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...332&CatId=1826

found the GT. I think if the price dropped $200-400 theyd be paying you to take it rofl.

Wait why is it not a good idea to get the cheapest power supply? All you need to do is make sure that it has enough cables and voltage to power your motherboard. I was a stupid little dummy when I bought mine and hooked up my SLI thinking that the 800 watts wasnt enough because the motherboard wasnt staying powered on, but in reality I spent 130 bucks at best buy to get an extra little 3.5" power supply drive and had something plugged into the motherboard that shouldnt have been which was causing the error...

Also, if you want to be like me and buy a bluray burner for your computer for the purpose of copying/selling bluray movies from netflix, dont bother. I didnt realize these movies come on dual layer bluray discs which cost 35 bucks a pop Although I'll get a decent return on it in the future I'm sure.

[Puppet Master]

I built you a little somethin somethin. This seems like the way to go for your pricerange.

CASE: LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Case - Retail

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

VIDEO CARD: ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

POWERSUPPLY: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM