What the hell ... I'll build my own!!

[DarrenNat]

I've been looking at MESH, EVESHAM and DELL's websites.

Lots of lovely computers but the prices, despite their claims, are daylight robbery!

I want a new Core 2 Duo PC, with 2048 memory for multitasking, 250GB hard drive, a nice high-res 19" monitor, windows home or mce, ASUS mainboard.., super format 18x dual layer DVD writer, 512 MB DDR2 nVIDIA GeForce 7300GS, wireless laser mouse/keyboard, ....

I'm happy to buy all these components seperately, as I'm sure this will save me a huge amount of money, but I don't know how easy it is to put it all together....

So .... is it easy to build a computer for yourself?

Or should I just buy from a reputable company?

 

[Member 79251]

Have you priced both systems new build vs shop build ?

If its a big difference then yes building a new machine is fun. I have built a few over the years and I started without a clue (Fried a few cpu's along the way.) and still today have no clue with current setups but you can always ask for some help via the forums!

 

[sinizterguy]

Building is quite straightforward and components will usually only plug into places they should go into (unless you use extreme force). Building also has the advantage that you can part upgrade in the future without voiding any warranties (some companies have a do not open case policy).

The problem is not building the machine - it is troubleshooting if something goes wrong, or simply because the wrong settings were used.

I personally build all my machines because I am comfortable with troubleshooting and dealing with the problems.

If you do decide to go the build route and need some help or advice post here and I am sure me or someone else can help you out to a large extent.

 

[Steve.J.Davies]

Its not hard to build a PC.
Selecting components both fun and tedious though.
try not to go for the latest and greatest of everything and smack 'em together. new drivers often buggy and just because its a list of six or seven hot items it doesn't mean it will neccessarily perform like lightning.
Tomshardware not a bad site for reviews.
Scan a pretty good supplier - have never let me down.
Once you have you list of components (I prefer 'just off the boil' stuff both for stability and to avoid the new kit premium. It is unlikely you will need the latest and greatest games config'd graphics card for HTPC for example - that can save quite a few bob !) keep an eye on Scan for the Today offers and the weekend deals. they can save a few extra bob. also they often do things like CPU+mobo or Mobo+graphics card deals of items that not only work together well but you get the extra coupla quid off - or bundled goodies like gamer's mouse or a pen stick or two.

As ever work out what (and how) you want to use it for; how much data you will need on disk - then double that disk estimate .
And have a bit of fun. When you get all the bits read all the doc before you build - especially the Mobo manual. Modern mobos have reams of features and some you may want to turn off - a raid controller say - and just because you don't want to use it it doesn't mean it is 'off' by default.

that or just buy a prebuilt one that the HTPC bods here recommend - provided their requirements are the same as yours of course, aye there's the rub.

 

[jaymz]

Have a looka www.mediapc.tv bundles. You can get a complete HTPC spec (tried, tested and quiet components) you just build it yourself.

 

[GaryB]

http://www.buildyourown.org.uk is a good source of advice if you do go ahead. The folks on the forums know their stuff.

http://tomshardware.co.uk is very good for comparative reviews of various components.

 

[DarrenNat]

Thanks for all the advice!

I really don't understand a lot of the jargon to do with computers... but I do know the following:

I want...

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
1024 or 2048 DDR2 RAM
160GB MINIMUM HARD DRIVE
GRAPHICS CAPABLE OF GOOD SMOOTH PERFORMANCE (NOT ANYTHING EXTREME!)
WINDOWS MCE
HIGH QUALITY 19" MONITOR (NOT A STANDARD ONE BUT NOT ONE FOR PROFESSIONALS EITHER.. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!)
DRIVE FOR PLAYING DVDS/CDS/ BURNING DVDS/CDS AT GOOD SPEED
COMFORTABLE WIRELESS LASER KEYBOARD/MOUSE
SPEAKERS WITH SUBWOOFER .. POSSIBLY A SET OF SURROUND SPEAKERS
AN ALL IN ONE PRINTER .. GOOD QUALITY


SO ... I WANT IT TO BE/HAVE: FAST, MULTI-TASKING, GOOD GRAPHICS, CRISP MONITOR, WIRELESS ACCESSORIES ......

CAN ANYONE WRITE UP A SPEC. WHICH WOULD SUIT ME? I REALLY DONT HAVE A CLUE .. SO FROM THE MOTHERBOARD ONWARDS, WOULD SOMEONE FIND IT IN THEIR HEART TO SIT AND RECOMMEND ALL THE COMPONENTS THAT WOULD BE GOOD? ...... BY THE WAY.. I LIKE THE 19" SONY SDM-HS95 MONITOR BECAUSE IT HAS A GOOD SPEC/LOOKS GREAT ... ANY COMMENTS ABOUT THAT?


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP! THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rambles]

Hi Darren, building your own is not difficult, you should be fine.

First - choose a case, second choose a motherboard, then get back to us for finalising the other bits. You will have to do some of the research yourself, have a look at the websites above that others have recommended - that would be a good start.

 

[DarrenNat]

I've given up ... can't be bothered building one for myself...

So.... I'm either buying a new - readymade! - one from MESH or DELL

Is there much difference between the fastest Pentium D processor and the slowest Core 2 Duo processor? Which should I go for....

Also, is 1024MB Memory enough to run Vista smoothly when it arrives?

Which graphics cards (nVidia or ATI) are better? And which model should I choose... I would like one capable of running latest 3d games smoothly/videos and graphics well ... but nothing extreme! i'm a light gamer.

Which 19" monitor is good? I like the SONY one that MESH sell... but as for DELL... there's the 19" UltraSharp too. Any advice?

As for sound cards.... I listen to music all the time and watch videos occassionally on my pc .. so is a sound card advisable ? i have onboard integrated sound on my pc just now and the sound isn't bad...

Any other suggestions for things I should include (eg best antivirus....etc) with my new desktop?


thanks...

 

[sh18]

building my own PC was the best thing i ever did, ive always been interested in computers, especially the hardware so i decided to have a go at building my own, you learn a lot from doing it and its good to know whats inside your PC and the best bit is you can upgrade how you want, when you want and you get a better idea of how much each componant costs for future upgrades. In thh end my PC did cost more than i expected and i could have bought a ready built PC for much less but im glad i did it.