If I wanted to build my first PC

[the lemming]

If I wanted to build my next PC rather than buying it ready made what would I have to consider?

Or is it more cost effective to buy one ready assembled from a shop?

I'd like to mention that I have only ever replaced graphics cards, RAM chips, hard drives and a heatsync so my experiece at building a PC is very limited Grin

Cheers

[bwhite82]

IMO, its cheaper to build your own PC if you want *near* latest and greatest, like one-year old hardware. This is what I do when I build a new desktop. If you want the absolute latest and greatest, you'll be hardpressed to build it for cheaper than premade.

Check out google for Linux compatibility:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=linux+hardware+compatibility&btnG=Search

If you aren't concerned at all with latest and greatest, you can build a rock-solid Linux-compatible PC for pretty cheap. As far as going about doing it, it's really really simple. The main component, the motherboard is the important decision. After that, just make sure each component you purchase is compatible with your motherboard. You'll need to do a lot of google research for this. After your homework is done, it's really as simple as legos. If you need help with anything just PM me.

[k2t0f12d]

Number one concern -> price vs. value

The newer the technology is in the hardware is the higher the price will be. You can easily spend twice as much on the cutting edge then you would for the next best. There is a sort of middle ground to DIY PC's, where you are going to spend more then you would for a pre-assembled, but less then if you got the top-of-the-line.

A family member got a Dell 8400 for ~2k that was quite frankly total rubbish. I built a machine that was easily twice as powerful for less then 1k.

[smbtol]

I had the same issue a few months ago. I chose to buy a refurbished Dell and upgrade what I wanted.
The only problem I can see with building your own PC is to choose the right power supply and computer case for your configuration.

[kevin11951]

what about system76? they are a pre-built Ubuntu computer company. im getting a gazelle value from them in a few weeks. that have some desktops, not exactly super cheap, but they aren't alien ware either.

http://www.system76.com (system76.com)

[smartboyathome]

what about system76? they are a pre-built Ubuntu computer company. im getting a gazelle value from them in a few weeks. that have some desktops, not exactly super cheap, but they aren't alien ware either.

http://www.system76.com (system76.com)

I remember seeing another one which I really liked, but can't remember the name :mad:

[LO Matt]

If I wanted to build my next PC rather than buying it ready made what would I have to consider?

Or is it more cost effective to buy one ready assembled from a shop?

I'd like to mention that I have only ever replaced graphics cards, RAM chips, hard drives and a heatsync so my experiece at building a PC is very limited Grin

Cheers

I'd say that replacing a CPU heatsink is probably the most delicate thing about building PCs. Your experience is enough to do the whole thing.

When you talk about cost effective, few people view their time as a cost, and if you did, than any savings building your own gets eaten up by assembly time. I look at it as "it's a hobby, and I enjoy doing it". Also, each component in a machine built by myself is, by default, what I want.

Just know that you should probably set aside a whole day to build your system and get it up and running. If you're ok with that, start buying. And as was said before, the motherboard is the most important thing to research before buying.

[egwest]

Shop around a bit, I recently got myself a Dell 2350 pentium 4 at a thriftstore for $20.

I fixed it up a little bit, bought a couple of gig memory chips from Best Buy that were on sale, and installed a DVD burner I got from office depot.

Everything else I wanted to install I already had. So all told it was a great deal:

$20 for the computer
$130 for the memory
$54 for the DVD burner

So I spent around $204 total for the unit

It already had a 50 gig hard drive, which I reformated and then installed Ubuntu on, then I installed some hardware which I already had, a 30 gig hard drive, a cd burner and a lynksys wireless card.

I got some of the stuff second hand from people I know, plus I keep an eye on places that are having year end clearance sales, you never know when you might get some computer hardware for 90% off.

I think I paid like $5 for the linksys wireless card a year ago, and the 30 gig harddrive and cd burner I got for free from someone I know who upgraded their system.

I have learned to keep my eyes and ears open for good computer hardware deals, sooner or later, you will find a use for something that you have picked up or been given.

Good luck, and most of all, if you build the thing, have fun!

Eric

[hhhhhx]

much cheaper to build, I saved about 1500 on my com, just cuz I boult it:)

[Lord DarkPat]

In 2002, my dad got a top-of-the-line desktop for 600 dollars(not sure how)

2.4 GHz Pentium 4 Northwood
512MB Ram
64 mb nVidia GeForce MX400
CD Burner

Remember, it was '02. Handles Xubu like a champ(with XGL)

[VLengoc]

You might want this (http://www.corsairmemory.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=12472)

[Dr Small]

I had the same issue a few months ago. I chose to buy a refurbished Dell and upgrade what I wanted.
The only problem I can see with building your own PC is to choose the right power supply and computer case for your configuration.
... And that in itself is not hard :|

[Cha1n5aW]

IMO, building a PC now is a total waste of money. I am planning on building a desktop based on the new AMD spider platform (phenom cpu). Since USB 3.0 is on the verge of release I intend to wait until a suitable USB 3 capable motherboard is released before I build. I would definately recommend building a PC over buying a prefab. To get the best value, check out online stores like ncix or tigerdirect and choose a "barebones" that reflects what you want in a pc. Again, I would recommend the new phenom platform as its alot of bang for ur buck and I would also highly recommend waiting a couple more months for a USB 3 capable motherboard. Always shop around, you don't have to buy all the components from the same place, but sometimes you can combine shipping, or get deals on other components by shopping at the same place to save money.

- Shawn

[Dr Small]

IMO, building a PC now is a total waste of money.
....
I would definately recommend building a PC over buying a prefab.

Was that intentional??

[Yes]

I'll also point out that building a computer can be a great learning experience, assuming you don't know all of the intricacies of hardware already.

[regomodo]

buy a decent PSU. That and consider passive heatsinks for your northbrdige and southbridge (zalman). Noisy fans on either and you'll go mad.

[sajro]

I remember seeing another one which I really liked, but can't remember the name :mad:

Perhaps ZaReason or R-Cubed?

[Cha1n5aW]

Was that intentional??

Did you read my entire post or did you just pick & choose the parts that suit your desire to discredit me?

Just to clarify for anyone who doesn't understand, the point I was trying to make is that its always preferable to build a PC over buying a prefab, but I was recommending anyone planning on building or buying a new PC to wait until USB 3 becomes available.

- Shawn

[Methuselah]

Funny, I just ordered parts for building a new PC.
It's based on the Core2 Quad and has a DDR3 capable Motherboard.
Total cost so far with

Processor
MB
2GB DDR2 800 Mem
Full tower Steel Case
ATI X700 based PCIex16 Video card
160GB HDD

is approx $700 US dollars.

The components over $100 were the processor, motherboard and case.
I could have spent less money on the case and MB and still have a pretty good system.

A power supply is the only essential left and that need not add more than $100. I already have a monitor and optical drive I can use.

Of course, I did a sanity check. Something similar from Dell would easily cost me north of $1500. It was more than worth it to order my own parts. I went with a pretty powerful system because I don't upgrade often. My current system (a 1GHZ PIII Dell) is probably 7-8 years old now.

[Methuselah]

I also want to say that in the world of technology, there is always a reason to wait for the next big thing. I was getting a duo-based system, then the quad was coming out so I waited. DDR3 mem will eventually take over so you might want toget a motherboard that is future-proof with respect to that...etc..etc.

At some point I guess you just have to buy something that'll be useful to you now.

[maniacmusician]

Did you read my entire post or did you just pick & choose the parts that suit your desire to discredit me?

Just to clarify for anyone who doesn't understand, the point I was trying to make is that its always preferable to build a PC over buying a prefab, but I was recommending anyone planning on building or buying a new PC to wait until USB 3 becomes available.

- Shawn
He wasn't trying to discredit you, just pointing out that you had a typo. You said "IMO, building a PC now is a total waste of money.", but you actually meant "buying" instead of "building".

[Kvark]

The performance of the graphics card is more important for games than the performance of all other parts put together. If you are into gaming look at many benchmarks on graphics cards and take note on how well the different models score in general. Remember that a 10% score difference or so is hardly noticeable when playing real games. Buy the cheapest card that is at least in roughly the same league as the best one. If you are not into gaming get a motherboard with integrated Intel graphics, Compiz effects out of the box with open source drivers is sweet.

Get an Intel CPU if you want one that can be overclocked like crazy but go for AMD if you want good bang for the buck ratio. If you overclock the CPU remember to decrease the memory multiplier so you don't overlock the memory too and lose stability.

Memory speed and timings doesn't matter much in reality, it's the amount that matters. 2GB should be enough to let the kernel cache all files it wants to and avoid waiting for the slow HDD.

Don't buy special coolers unless you plan to overclock. Even the included stock coolers are pretty quiet today.

For any part except the PSU you can safely go for the cheapest one that has the features and performance you want (as long as they are compatible of course, the motherboard should support the FSB speed the CPU wants and the speed of the memories).

You get better performance over time by buying decent systems more often than by buying top of the line systems more rarely.

[Midwest-Linux]

I bought a number of used computers off of E-Bay and added RAM, CD/DVD drives, larger hard drives, added cards, updated BIOS and ran Linux and Windows 2000 on them.

Less expensive than building your own. But the drawback was that most of these were Pentium II and III's , my main purpose was to be able to try out a number of different Linux distros and to learn more about computers in general. Refurbishing older PC's are great for learning and if one messes something up...no big deal. Some of the older PC's have limitations like only 512 MB max RAM.

However if you want the best and newest and most up to date, then build your own. In six months the computer will be obsolete...lol...jk

There are a number of good places to parts for your Build your own PC computers, MicroCenter is a good example. They just ran a sale for their BYOPC month.

I haven't tried building my own PC from scratch, that is something that I would like to accomplish. I would have Linux Mint 4.0 on one hard drive and Windows XP Pro on the other and just switch out the connections if I wanted to boot up either one. Dual booting is fine, but I prefer separate hard drives for each OS. I mention installing XP Pro only because of the June 2008 deadline and Vista is not in the cards.

Myth TV or some kind of DVR is on my list of projects to do. I still use that old fashioned VCR with the blinking 12:00 ...(lol) for my TV recording needs. Low quality but perfectly functional...

I would say set a budget and work from there. At least 1 GB of RAM, 250 Gig hard drive, and 3 GHZ speed would be the minimum specs I would advise to start out with. Then add from there.

[Methuselah]

You get better performance over time by buying decent systems more often than by buying top of the line systems more rarely


Or buy a decent PC rarely, which is pretty much my policy.
Changing PCs is not exactly something I look forward to.
Wouldn't want to do it often.

[intense.ego]

He wasn't trying to discredit you, just pointing out that you had a typo. You said "IMO, building a PC now is a total waste of money.", but you actually meant "buying" instead of "building".

No, he didn't make a typo. What he meant was:
"IMO, building a PC now is a total waste of money."

[Cha1n5aW]

ty intense.ego, the point was its a waste to either build or buy a pc right now , I would recommend waiting until USB3 is available.

[fetisha]

My boyfriend built me my first one, while I watched him do it, not too long ago (22nd of February). It looked pretty easy if you know which wires go where and BIOS stuff. Anyway, I suggest Shuttle barebones system. Mine came with an AMD motherboard, graphics and sound car. You just needed to add the ram, hard drive, optical drives and place the cpu and you're done. Well, it may not be that simple, but it looked that way.

[Dr Small]

My boyfriend built me my first one, while I watched him do it, not too long ago (22nd of February). It looked pretty easy if you know which wires go where and BIOS stuff. Anyway, I suggest Shuttle barebones system. Mine came with an AMD motherboard, graphics and sound car. You just needed to add the ram, hard drive, optical drives and place the cpu and you're done. Well, it may not be that simple, but it looked that way.
It generally is, unless some piece of hardware is bad from the git-go. Then you have to diagnose the problem.... :D