Building your own computer
 

Any of the more techie types here know a good place to buy computer parts to build a computer? Got a friend who said they would build one for me if I bought the parts needed and I'm thinking about doing it rather than buying a new Dell.

Re: Building your own computer
 

If price is the primary reason for building your own, buy the Dell. I've always built my own, but Dell's prices have dropped to where I can no longer buy the parts for what Dell is charging for a system delivered to your door.

Re: Building your own computer
 

Agreed. I used to build my own as well. Dell's prices just can't be beat. so I go to them now.

as for answering your question. Just about any computer shop should be able to sell whatever you need. I tended to go with the small local guys as I knew them fairly well and they always cut me good deals.

Re: Building your own computer
 

Make sure you have plenty of keyboards, TE! http://oprano.com/msgboard/images/smilies/hello2.gif

Re: Building your own computer
 

Hmmm.. I guess I might just go with another Dell then.. looking to get a computer so I can play Everquest 2 and/or World Of Warcraft as well as more memory for work.

Re: Building your own computer
 

Hehehehe.....

Re: Building your own computer
 

I'd stick to Dell...if not check this company out TigerDirect.com

Re: Building your own computer
 

Make sure there are no windows in the room you build it........... you will be sorely tempted at times lol

Re: Building your own computer
 

www.pricewatch.com

the only url you will ever need to know

Re: Building your own computer
 

Never a truer word spoken in jest :okthumb:

Re: Building your own computer
 

Geek alert here i go:

if you don't want to spend time building and have time to wait for shipment go with dell.

however if you want to build a kick ass system:

1 MSI or ASUS board that can run Hyper Threading and hold 1 gig ram. Built in LAN and sound. *if you are in to sound then fuck the built in
1 soundblaster audigy 4 pro
1 ATI X850 XT video card (dual monitor capable)
1 or 2 Flat Screens (go to your local store for these)
1 gigabit ethernet card (if you did not go for the built in one)
1 p4 2.8 or 3.0 HT proc (probably the most expensive part of your system)
ATX tower case can run from 45 to 150 if you want to get fancy
if you buy all in the same place they probably give you the keyboard and mouse
SATA drives 1 or 2 80 gig or 150 gig you can use raid 1 for redundancy or raid 0 just for bulk space.

probably spend around 1500 to 1800 for that whole setup and you have something dell can't give you. upgrades if you want to get better parts you just buy them with dell depending on the case and motherboard you are fucked.


:)

Re: Building your own computer
 

And of course when it breaks (and it will) you have to return it to Dell and deal without a comupter for a couple weeks. :)

Check out http://www.archcomputing.com for parts, great prices, fast shipping.

:)

Re: Building your own computer
 

Hmmm.. thanks for the feedback folks. In regards to Dell, I love this computer I currently have. I've never had a problem with it at all. Just need a bit more memory andbetter graphics card for work and play. :>))

Re: Building your own computer
 

My desktop was built by a guy I was dating who owned a computer store. I like it because I could get what I wanted and not get any of the garbage I didn't need. It's about 3+ years old so I might replace it soon, but I'll probably get a Dell. Having a warranty is nice (though I had a "warranty" with the the desktop made for me, the terms were a little different than Dell's ;) ).

Re: Building your own computer
 

Heheheh.. interesting terms to be sure.. LOL

Re: Building your own computer
 

A friend of mine just bought one of those dell boxes for his sister and she is over the moon with it .. just had to find a monitor and peripherals on ebay and she was set. £500 I believe she paid in total .. I can't get over how cheap hardware is becoming now.

Re: Building your own computer
 

I agree, just built the system I am on now... Went to dell.com a week later and I could of got the same thing for about $75 less (granted I do have a sweet case, lol)

I think since they are buying in such bulk it makes it more reasonable to just buy from them as they have effectively cut out the price of dealing with the middle man and actually made it cheaper in many cases

Re: Building your own computer
 

Ohhh.. came across http://www.compudirectpc.com/ going through http://www.pricewatch.com and as I could care less about getting a flat panel moniter (which admittedly is a nice free upgrade at Dell) I can custom build a pretty sweet system with nice specs for a reasonable price if I use my old CRT 19" moniter.

Re: Building your own computer
 

Damn... price watch does have a shit load of stuff to really look over....

Can anyone speak as to the pros and cons of Intel vs Atholon processors?

Re: Building your own computer
 

Athlon is better for gaming pure and simple :)

Re: Building your own computer
 

Thanks Trev.

Re: Building your own computer
 

If it just has to be Intel for you then I would say go for the Celron over the Pentium as that's the Intel gaming chip, and it kicking ass with wireless technology as well :)

Re: Building your own computer
 

Thanks again. I'm in the looking around and research phase. I need more memory for work to be sure as this computer is down to about 10% of it's memory left. Another part of the reason for a new computer is rather than going to the bar on my free time I want to start playing Everquest 2 and/or World of Warcraft as that saves me money and it's fun. I don't play any of those super high end games that need those super computer graphics capability computers. Just more memory and a better graphics card to be able to play the aformentioned game(s) and easier working.