The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
The buying of desktop computers - dumb?
SatanIsMyMotor
Fuck Warren EllisRegistered User regular
Fuck Warren EllisRegistered User regular
Ok, so after years of dealing only with laptops I'm beginning to get the itch for a gaming desktop. Here's the thing - I don't really want to build one due to me both being impatient and not really having a ton of spare time. Is this silly of me?
If not, what should I be looking for? I'm canadian and I'd like to stay below $1200 on the rig. I've been looking at Dell's computers but reviews are so mixed on them I just don't know what to do.
Help a brother out?
If not, what should I be looking for? I'm canadian and I'd like to stay below $1200 on the rig. I've been looking at Dell's computers but reviews are so mixed on them I just don't know what to do.
Help a brother out?
SatanIsMyMotor on
0
Posts
If you don't want to build, you may wish to consider using a site like ncix.com or memoryexpress.com (or tigerdirect.ca if they do assembly, I have no idea) to assemble a system for you. Pricing doesn't look so bad (25$ from NCIX to put it together, 40$ from memoryexpress / 70$ from them to also load the OS, didn't look at tigerdirect.ca) and if you're busy / a bit rusty then you'll probably come out ahead in the time-is-money type of scenario.
I just tossed together a quick and dirty configuration for memoryexpress (by which I mean I didn't price check it against other online shops in Canada --the parts are fine, but you should really price check this stuff because Canadians get gouged...):
Antec Sonata Plus with 550W PSU: $240
Phenom II 2.8ghz triple core (I love these CPUs right now, they OC great.) $190
M4A78 Pro mobo: $145 (has an onboard HD3200 which I doubt you'll use, but it's nice to have an onboard GPU when you upgrade later and want to use a system for an HTCP, say.)
4gb of mushkin DDR2: $80
1TB WD 'black' hard drive: $140
random 30$ LG multipurpose burner/dvd player: $30
BFG GTS 250: $190 (I'd really think about hunting up a video card elsewhere though and just adding it yourself later... may be worth spending $30 more to get a 1gb model)
+ $40 assembly fee (I figure you'd want to install the Win7 beta instead of spending money on a Vista license right now / having to pay for Win7 later.)
A system like that should pretty much fly. And if you like OC'ing, it'll OC nicely too.
That would be $1055 CDN with assembly (and like I said I didn't price check any of this, so you should definitely do that... I know Canadians get a bit gouged on computer hardware but even so that seems more than it should be to me.) Computer build thread can always recommend good hardware / has good hardware recommended for various budgets in the OP if you need a place to start / don't like what I chose.
I'd mostly pick an online site that will build what you pick over a place like Dell because with an online site you don't end up wasting money on things like 80 in one memory card readers. Places like Dell know what a good video card is, but if YOU want that good video card you'll probably end up buying a model that has higher end parts other than the GPU that you don't really need, for example.
It takes a lot longer researching all the parts to buy, and looking up how-to manuals on building your own comp (not everyone knows how to build a computer), but putting one together isn't very difficult and can be a satisfying do-it-yourself experience.
It can also be considerably cheaper if you're not looking for a top of the line gaming rig, and you're willing to do some research and price hunting. Buying slightly older computer parts are often ridiculously cheap, as CPUs and graphics cards lose most of their value within a year.
That said, if you're not sure you'd know what to do, it's ok to just buy one. If something goes wrong, you'll have tech support, and everything is assured to work together.
So, I don't think it's dumb, but if you're capable of building it yourself it might be better to do that.
It's not a terrible idea, but do you know any friends who might be able to help? I built my friend's computer for a $5 foot long sub, and he definitely saved compared to a premade.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
When I built my first machine I had absolutely zero idea of how computers went together. Just read the manuals that come with your case/mobo/CPU/PSU. There are always tutorials around on the net but even without prior knowledge you probably won't need them.
edit: Also, go here and ask all the questions you want. You'll get more advice than you could ever need.
Optimally what I'd like to do is get a nice gaming computer with the option for expandability.
Then later you look at all your old components sitting forlornly in the corner and think "I could make an HTPC out of those..."
I'm confident that it is fairly easy to do these things yourself since you can watch others built it step by step on youtube and decent motherboards come with good manuals but I'm also happy with my decision to pay $50 for it to be done professionally for me.
If I'd spent an extra $400 on an equivalent Dell or something then I'd have felt dumb, but $50 is nothing to get exactly the parts I want put together perfectly.
Checkout NCIX, tigerdirect, newegg....
Heh, yeah, once you start upgrading your computer, it's hard to stop. When I decided I needed a new Video-card (Geforce 8400GS), I ended up buying new RAM (2GB), CPU (3.0Ghz Pentium 4), and Power Supply (480watts) to go with it. Now I need a new motherboard, since mine only supports PCI slots, but I'd rather just buy a whole new comp than do that. Atm though I'm happy with the upgrades I've made (I figure these upgrades can last me another 2 years); it can play most games out now, but admittedly on minimum settings.
Next thing I'm eying is a 21" wide-screen LCD monitor, got to get my rig ready for Starcraft II.
Or right away. I have the worst luck building computers, and it's not because of a lack of care. In fact, I'm very, very careful with location and static electricity. For every computer I've built, I've gotten parts that were DOA. After spending hours putting it together, getting cuts all over my fingers, I'd smile once it was all said and done and then erupt into a stream of curses. Then I'd have to spend time and money trying to figure out what part is acting up so I could RMA it.
You know what? I'm sick of that. I just want to get a computer and have it work right away without all the hassle. It's still best for your wallet if you build one yourself, but maybe after more than half a dozen computers put together and malfunctioning you might deserve a break from that crap. Dell Studio XPS 435, you shall be mine.
Sorry to hear about your experience. In all my years of building systems myself, I have never had one component that is DoA. I've had a video card that drew artifacts under load but a quick RMA meant I had a replacement three days later.
You should know that Dell is famous for skimping on parts like the power supply. Sure it may work right out of the box but you're going to have problems down the line. Even if you are still under warranty when that happens, you'll have to deal with a very bored call centre employee who is reading off a script, and who cannot do anything for you until he goes through that script a step at a time.
Picking what parts to buy would really be the only difficult part if you don't know your hardware. Once you actually have all the pieces, though, it's basically just a large, expensive jigsaw puzzle. :P
And of course, we're always here to answer any questions!
I've built computers before, I was wondering if anyone has good experience, or good sites, for buying whole desktops. I've been really tempted to go the lazy route this time around.
http://lifehacker.com/5151369/the-first+timers-guide-to-building-a-computer-from-scratch
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
If you're not sure what parts to choose, we have a thread for that. I'm sure if you lay out how much money you're willing to spend and what you want to do with the thing then someone'll supply you with a reasonable config.
If you are near Calgary/Edmonton/ Winnipeg check out Memory Express. I have been dealing with them for years. They have served me well for service over the years.
I have also heard good things about NCIX, but have not dealt with them personally.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
I'm actually on the complete other side of the country in NB.
I may do an assembly thingy with NCIX. I really am quite hesitant to build it myself. I'm also notoriously statickly for some reason. Even after I ground myself I still seem to carry a charge. I think it has something to do with my apartment.
Yeah the preassembly thing is a good deal - $50 and they install the OS you buy and make sure nothing is DOA.
So one possible route is to wait for a sale for Dell or whatever, and replace the video card or power supply on it. I'm pretty sure all the manufacturers no longer use proprietary connectors for desktops. However, you have to make sure the desktop has a PCI-E 16X connector, and has a case that can physically fit a video card
Dell PSUs are actually underrated, they're listed below peak wattage. And you can replace them aftermarket anyways.
Anyways, if you absolutely need one know, go ahead and build it yourself.
If you can wait, though, the best solution I've found is to use a Dell box as a glorified barebones kit and replace whatever you need to after market - usually the video card, as Dell almost always charges at least MSRP to upgrade video. Dell usually has at least 1 sale a quarter where they'll offer an entire system for what Newegg charges for just the CPU, RAM, mainboard and (optional) monitor, and everything else (video card, hard drive, optical drive, case, OS, kb/m, etc.) you're basically getting free from Dell. If you don't like 'em, just put 'em up on eBay.
The drawbacks are lack of choice, lack of future expandability, and that's it's not going to be as aggressive as a true gaming PC. Dell doesn't let you tinker around the BIOS with timings and voltages and such, and the mainboard is going to adhere very closely to reference spec.
The biggest benefit to building it yourself is usually you can get a lot more bang for your buck, but also you become familiar with your hardware. You know what makes your PC tick and things like that, or at least that's how it is for me. If something goes wrong on my PC I know exactly what it is usually because I can just retrace my steps back up to one of my fuck ups. The worst fuck up you can do to your PC is to not mount the washers/lifters on the mobo, or if your a ham-fisted thicky and punch your CPU into the socket. Did the first one and shorted a mobo, learned my lesson real fast, and the second one happens to more people than it should.
Oh and another pro to buying pre-built is that you probably won't have to worry about cooling as much as if you built it yourself. Also you don't have to worry if your case is too small or your power supply is too large. These minor details are what get people since there's really no industry standard for power supply size or case size.
That's what I did. I built my first gaming PC, and basically spent the next few years dealing with the problems. It was manageable, given my limited experience, but the real killer came from an electrical surge.
I instead waited for a deal and bought a dedicated gaming machine with a lot of options for expandability. Plus, it was the only way I could get a machine that could do both SLI and Crossfire (try building one that does both, and then with my limited experience). I was quite happy with the amount of time I saved and the support that came with it.
Of course, if you're more experienced, that's a good reason to build it yourself, not to mention saving money--for me, it was a case of knowing that certain things simply couldn't be reproduced by buying individual components. Say what you sill, a "sense of satisfaction" is in no way guaranteed. Plus, I hate dealing with those fucking tiny power/reset/USB pins.
I'll go to Newegg, and find all the best-deal parts I can and throw together a rig, then go to dell or HP and look up their equivalent machine (which usually takes forever because one of the pre-requisites of being a PC manufacturer is that your web site be terrible apparently) and the price will always be the same + a shitty printer thrown in.
I buy PCs and servers for the company I work for as well so suppliers basically call me when they have awesome deals.
A bit too worried about it going kersplode on me.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I'm just never hurting for any of the extra CPU cycles that overclocking could get me. If I was then I would have purchased a faster processor.
Now back in the day when 500mhz was the fastest you could buy... getting an extra 10% on top of that was pretty significant.
I don't overclock either, I'm just not that much of a zealot.
I built my first two PCs myself. First one was a 450Mhz P-III, next one was a 1.8GHz Athlon XP+.
After the Athlon eventually died, I got lazy and bought a Dell XPS. Caught a good deal on it (price was just about the same as what I would've paid for the parts to build it myself).
Being an IT guy where everything in the building is Dell, I got no problems buying anything from them.
I don't see an issue with going either route. Building one yourself is fun, but you have to support it. Buying one is quick and you get a full warranty + tech support, but you might not get as much for your money.
When I got my system it was a 2.18Ghz Core 2 Duo with 1GB RAM and a 256MB 7900GS. I upgraded to 3GB of RAM a couple of months ago, and my 7900 just died on me last week. I replaced it with a 1GB 9800GT and I'm good to go for who knows how long. Crysis runs very smooth for me now, so I think I'm set until/unless something else dies. :P
To this day, I can't figure out how to overclock my CPU. I get to the BIOS, change the speeds, but can't get it stable. In other words, I'm an idiot...though in my defense, I think I could figure it out if someone actually had my BIOS and my CPU (motherboard, 780i and E8400 from Intel), and recommended some settings because you have to get it just right. As oppose to guessing at multiples, crashing, and then setting things back to default.
Plus, my setup came free with watercooling for the CPU. I don't think temperature would be too much of a problem.
I overclock everything (since 286s) but that's because, to me, it's free performance. Whether my system runs the lowest end or highest end cpu, I figure I'll get free performance out of it through overclocking (lower end is always better of course.) Today CPUs are pretty beefy, and you're often GPU limited for games. That reduces the attractiveness of OCing for some people, but free performance is free performance. And the gains are considerable if you're building a budget rig (ie, an e7200 with a good mobo will perform as well as any core 2 duo out there, thanks to OCing. And you can spend the cost difference between the cheaper intel CPU and the more expensive intel CPU to get a better video card.)
Speaking about it's dangers...
I no longer believe that OCing effectively (maybe mine will last 20 years instead of 40) reduces the lifespan of CPUs, since I've never lost a system to it. All off my earliest 'large' overclocks, namely my cel-a 433@541, p3-cu-550@792, and P3-cu--700@890, are all still going strong.
The big trick with OCing is to make sure you get a motherboard suitable for it before you want to do it. Then you have the option to do it later if you want, not to mention you get to know you're running a board that's designed to run out of spec and still be stable. Lots of cheap boards can barely pull off stable while running in spec, and just a bit of voltage trouble from a PSU will make them into unstable shitpiles.
I'm not really sure it's worth it these days though. 10-15% is maybe the most I'd ever feel comfortable with, and that's usually very hard to notice.
GT: Tanky the Tank
Black: 1377 6749 7425